High density storage facility

ABSTRACT

A high density storage facility including a storage area is described. Storage racks may be provided in the storage facility, and may be divided from top to bottom into slots. The slots may extend the width of the racks and be accessible for inserting and removing objects into and from the racks. The racks may be disposed in rows within the storage area and include a mechanism for rolling the racks along the storage area. The storage area may include a wall disposed substantially parallel to a widthwise side of the storage area. Doors may be disposed along the length of the wall, for providing access to the width ends of the racks. The racks may be installed upon rollably movable carriages along the width of the storage area for providing access to the width ends of the carriage racks from the doors.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application claims priority to Provisional Application No.61/127,346, filed on May 12, 2008, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present application relates to high density storage facilities, andmore particularly to high density storage facilities for storingintermodal containers, boats and other large items.

Despite advances in building materials, material handling vehicles, andtechniques, there is still a need for storage facilities for large sizedobjects such as intermodal containers, boats, cars, furniture and thelike. Such facilities should provide mechanisms for obtaining ready andefficient access to the stored objects.

For example, conventional boat storage facilities include a largebuilding with racks aligned along the walls and a large unoccupied floorspace. This results in a large amount of unused space, as depicted inFIG. 1.

Container terminals for storing and retrieving intermodal containersexhibit similar problems. Conventional facilities consume large areas ofvaluable seaport acreage. Because conventional facilities may usenumerous aisles and provide wide spaces between intermodal containers,and because such containers are generally randomly placed and widelyspaced, many terminal operators have difficulty in controlling thestorage, retrieval and delivery of the containers. This often results intime consuming and costly repositioning and searching operations fordisplaced containers.

Therefore, a need exists for a high density storage facility whichprovides ready and efficient access to the space within the facilitywhere objects may be stored.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a high density storage facility is disclosed,including a storage area. Storage racks, divided from top to bottom intostorage slots, may be provided in the storage area. Optionally, thestorage area may be in a building including a wall, with doors disposedalong the length of the wall for providing access to the ends of theracks.

The storage racks may be open and accessible for inserting and removingobjects. The racks may be riding on movable carriages, which may becoupled and disposed in rows within the storage area, and the carriagesmay include a mechanism for moving the racks. The carriage racks mayfurther be coupled and uncoupled along the width of the enclosed storagearea for providing access to the width ends of the racks from the doors.The carriage racks may be connected and disconnected along theirlengthwise sides, forming rows which are rollably movable in a widthwisedirection along the storage area. Tracks for rolling the carriage racksmay extend along the width of the storage area. According to oneembodiment, the carriages include motor mechanisms for moving the racksacross a portion of the storage area.

According to one embodiment, rows of carriage racks are disposed withinthe storage area. For some applications, it may be useful to include asmany rows of carriage racks as will fit along the width of the storagearea.

The number of carriage racks may be chosen such as to leave a portion ofthe floor area unoccupied, of a size sufficient to provide access fromoptional doors to the width ends of the carriage racks upon selectivemovement of the rows along the width of the storage area. According toone embodiment, the doors are selectively disposed along the wall of thebuilding so as to provide access to the unoccupied floor area uponselective movement of one or more of the carriage racks in the rows ofcarriage racks along the width of the storage area. The unoccupied floorarea may be selected to be of such size as to accommodate manipulationof the objects within the unoccupied floor area for insertion into theslots. The unoccupied floor area may further be selected to be of such asize as to be accessible to the doors upon movement of one or more ofthe carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the width of thefloor area.

The facility may include a row of stationary racks arranged along thedoorless widthwise side of the storage area, the stationary racks havinga certain length, width and height and being divided from top to bottominto storage slots. The slots may extend the length of the racks, andmay be open and accessible from a width end for inserting and removingobjects. The width ends of the racks may face the storage area.

A row of racks may include a series of spaced vertical supportsinterconnected by a series of spaced horizontal supports. The horizontalsupports may be adjustable in position along the height of the verticalsupports.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional boat or other large object storagefacility

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a floor plan suitable forpracticing the illustrative embodiments taught herein.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a floor plan suitable forpracticing the illustrative embodiments taught herein.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a floor plan suitable forpracticing the illustrative embodiments taught herein.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a floor plan suitable forpracticing the illustrative embodiments taught herein.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a floor plan suitable forpracticing the illustrative embodiments taught herein.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a floor plan suitable forpracticing the illustrative embodiments taught herein.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the vertical and horizontal supports, theslots, the wheels, and the means for rolling the carriage rack along thefloor.

FIG. 10A depicts an electromagnetic coupling system suitable for usewith illustrative embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10B depicts an exemplary rack, mounted on an electromagneticcarriage suitable for use with a maglev system according to exemplaryembodiments.

FIG. 10C depicts an exemplary rack, mounted on a wheeled carriagesuitable for use with a maglev system according to exemplaryembodiments.

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary carriage rack, mounted on a wheeledcarriage suitable for use with an intermodal container according toexemplary embodiments.

FIG. 12 depicts an exemplary overhead view of fixed racks and carriageracks configured for use with an intermodal container according toexemplary embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description sets forth illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention, it being understood that other embodiments notspecifically described herein are encompassed by the present invention.

FIGS. 2-7 show the overall floor plan of an illustrative storage 10. Inone embodiment, a floor area 110 which is defined by lines connectingpoints 30, 40, 50, 60 is provided. The floor area may be in the shape ofa polygon, for example, a rectangle or a square. The floor area includesa width, designated “W” in FIG. 3, and a length, designated “L” in FIG.3. The direction indicated by the double-arrows associated with thewidth W in FIG. 3 is referred to herein as the “widthwise direction,”and the direction indicated by the double arrows associated with thelength L in FIG. 3 is referred to herein as the “lengthwise direction.

As depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, an exemplary embodiment has a floor areaof 275 feet by 425 feet, which allows a number of suitably placedcarriage racks to be accessed. One having ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the floor area may be greater or smaller than thatshown, depending on the application. More or fewer carriage racks may beemployed as needed. The carriage racks and the fixed racks each have alength and a width, as indicated by length “Y” 246 and width “X” 245 offixed rack 205 in at least FIG. 3. While the length and width have beendescribed with relation to fixed rack 205, each carriage rack asdiscussed below has a length “Y” 246 and width “X” 245. Each fixed rackhas a length and a width along the same axes defined in relation tofixed rack 205. Likewise, each carriage rack has a length and a widthalong the same axes defined in relation to other carriage racks in thesame row and adjacent rows. The lengthwise direction of the fixed racksand the carriage racks may correspond to the lengthwise direction of thefloor area, and the widthwise direction of the rack may correspond tothe widthwise direction of the floor area.

A carriage rack is a movable rack, which may include means forlocomotion integrated into the frame of the carriage, or may be mountedon a movable carriage. A plurality of movable carriage racks 70-84,85-99, 100-114, 115-129, 130-144, 145-159, 160-174, 175-189, and 190-204are arranged as shown in rows within floor area 110, each row includinga number of individual racks. Depending on the application, as many oras few carriage racks as needed may be selected. In the illustrativeembodiment depicted in FIG. 4, each row includes 15 carriage racks. Inthis illustrative embodiment, a selected width of the area 110 is filledwith carriage racks, for purposes of maximum space utilization. In otherembodiments, concerns other than space utilization may call for adifferent configuration or a different number of racks.

In the illustrative embodiment, each row of carriage racks 70-84, 84-99,100-114, 115-129, 130-144, 145-159, 160-174, 175-189, and 190-204 ismovable widthwise along the area 110. The rows may be mounted on wheels11 (FIG. 8) which are in turn mounted in tracks 12 which extend aselected width of area 110. Alternatively, the rows may be mounted usingany other system that facilitates the movement of the carriage racks,such as a magnetic levitation system, an air levitation system thatallows movement of the rows of racks, or a system of wheels without atrack, the system of wheels can include one or more tires. In theillustrative embodiment, wheels 11 are mounted at the bottom of bothwidthwise sides of each carriage rack and a series of spaced paralleltracks 12 are provided along the width of the area 110 to coincide withthe direction of displacement. In some embodiments each carriage rack ineach row is movable independent of other carriage racks in the row. Forexample, in some embodiments carriage rack 70 moves independently ofcarriage racks 71-84. In some embodiments two or more racks are coupledor formed together to move in unison. For example, in some embodimentscarriage racks 70 and 71 move in unison.

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2-7, all of the carriage racks in eachrow have the same length and width, although the lengths and widths ofindividual rows of carriage racks may vary. In that case, the widthwisedisposition of wheels and complementary tracks 12 should coincide withthe lengths of each individual carriage rack. The tracks may extend thewidth of area 110, i.e. between the line connecting points (30, 60) andpoints (40, 50). Alternatively, the tracks may extend a differentdistance, depending on the particular application. In some embodimentsthe widths 245 of individual carriage racks may vary from row to row orin a row. In some embodiments the lengths 246 of carriage racks may varyfrom row to row or in a row.

Each carriage rack may be divided into slots 14 from top to bottom. Inapplications such as boat storage, one having ordinary skill in the artwill appreciate that the total height of the slots may be determined bythe facility. However, the size of the carriage racks may vary dependingon the application.

In one embodiment, the carriages and racks are a unitary structureincluding a series of parallel vertically oriented supports 18 connectedfrom top to bottom by a series of parallel horizontal 19 supports.Conventional mechanisms may be provided for adjusting a horizontalsupport up and down along the vertical supports 18 (FIG. 8). Forexample, the mechanisms may adjust the horizontal support in incrementsof, for example, inches, or may adjust the horizontal support in largeror smaller increments, depending on the application. In one embodiment,the vertical distance between successive horizontal supports defines theslot height and the horizontal distance between successive verticalsupports 18 defines slot width.

According to one embodiment, a series of doors 240 are disposed alongone widthwise wall of the facility. An unoccupied and changeable serviceand loading area 20 may be provided, the size of which may be selectedbased on a number of factors. Such factors may include where doors 240are disposed along the outer wall.

When carriage racks in a row 70-84,85-99,100-114,115-129,130-144,145-159,160-174,175-189, and 190-204 areappropriately moved along the floor area 110, enough floor area 20 maybe left unoccupied so as to enable the user to gain access to the widthends 245 of each row. As shown in FIGS. 3-8, the unoccupied floor area20 may be large enough relative to the displacement of doors 240 so asto enable a user of the facility to gain access to the width ends 245 ofthe carriage racks. This can be accomplished by moving one or morecarriage racks sufficiently to enable a user to gain access to the widthends 245 of racks in a row through a door 240. Objects to be stored inthe slots may be inserted via the width ends 245 of the carriage racks.In some embodiments, objects to be stored in the slots may be insertedvia the length wise opening 246 of the carriage racks.

As shown in FIGS. 2-7, a stationary row of racks 205-220 along thedoorless widthwise wall may be provided. This may allow for greaterstorage utilization in the facility. The width ends 245 of racks 205-220may also be accessible through at least one door 240 by appropriatemovement of carriage racks in rows 70-84,85-99,100-114,115-129,130-144,145-159,160-174,175-189, and 190-204 ofcarriage racks along the width of area 10.

The size of the unoccupied floor area 20 may be selected such that it islarge enough to allow the objects to be stored in the carriage racks andto be manipulated into the width ends 245 of the carriage racks. Forexample, the length and width of the unoccupied floor space 20 may beselected to be long enough and wide enough to enable a forklift to alignitself parallel to the length of the carriage racks for insertion andremoval of the boat(s) into and from the width ends 245 of the carriageracks. Likewise, the size of the unoccupied floor area 20 may beselected such that it is large enough to allow the objects to be storedin the carriage racks and to be manipulated into the length wise opening246 of the carriage racks. For example, the length and width of theunoccupied floor space 20 may be selected to be long enough and wideenough to enable a forklift to align itself perpendicular to the lengthof the carriage racks for insertion and removal of an intermodalcontainer from the length wise opening 246 of the carriage racks.

FIG. 4 depicts unoccupied floor space 20 at the far left of the floorarea 110. This configuration may facilitate, for example, access to thewidth end 245 of rack 220. However, with reference to FIG. 5, a user maydesire to gain access to the width end 245 of carriage rack 104 toremove an object from the rack. According to one embodiment of thepresent invention, appropriate carriage racks may be shifted in awidthwise direction with respect to the floor area 110, as depicted inFIGS. 5-6. In FIG. 6, the appropriate carriage racks have been shiftedsuch that unoccupied floor space 20 provides a passage to the width end245 of carriage rack 104, allowing access to carriage rack 104, forexample, by a forklift. In FIG. 7, the carriage racks have been furthershifted to provide a passage via unoccupied floor space 20 to the widthend 245 of carriage rack 136. Similarly, in FIG. 8, appropriate carriageracks have been shifted in order to provide access via unoccupied floorspace 20 from the door to the width end of carriage rack 167.

In one embodiment, the lengths and widths of movable carriage racks70-84, 85-99,100-114,115-129,130-144,145-159,160-174,175-189 and 190-204may vary among different movable rows provided within a facility 110.The facility 110 may be provided with an unoccupied area 20 of at leasta size sufficient to obtain access through an appropriate door 240 toall of the width ends 245 of the carriage racks. This may beaccomplished, for example, upon appropriate widthwise movement ofsuccessive rows of carriage racks within a floor area defined by linesbetween points 30, 40, 50, and 60. The facility 10 may be provided witha stationary row of racks 205-220. These stationary racks may also havevarying widths, or may be of the same width, and may be located along adoorless wall. The movable carriage racks 70-84,85-99,100-114,115-129,130-144,145-159,160-174, 175-189, and 190-204 maybe aligned such that their lengthwise dimensions are substantiallyparallel to the lengthwise dimension of area 110.

In some embodiments, it may be necessary or desirable to access thelength ends of the carriage racks. For example, intermodal containersmay be stored in the racks which must be lifted, for example by aforklift, from the length ends. Accordingly, the racks may be orientedso as to afford access to the length ends from the doors.

FIG. 9 depicts a schematic front view of illustrative coupled racks. Theracks may be divided into slots 14 by vertical supports 18 and byhorizontal supports 19. A row of carriage racks may extend across thewidth of a selected defined floor space (e.g. between points 30, 60 and40, 50), or may extend across any width that is appropriate to theparticular application. The movable coupled racks may be mounted onrollable wheels 11 which, in turn, may be mounted within complementarytracks 12 provided on the floor surface.

The racks may alternatively be mounted on carriages. For example, FIG.10B depicts an exemplary rack, mounted on an electromagnetic carriagesuitable for use with a maglev system according to exemplary embodimentsof the present invention. FIG. 10C depicts an exemplary rack, mounted ona wheeled carriage suitable for use with a maglev system according toexemplary embodiments of the present invention.

The carriage racks may be coupled along the lengthwise side, thewidthwise side, or both. The carriage racks may be coupled using anysuitable coupling method, such as by an electromagnetic coupling system,an electromotive coupling system, or a mechanical coupling system suchas a system of hooks. For example, FIG. 10A depicts an electromagneticcoupling system suitable for use with illustrative embodiments of thepresent invention.

In one embodiment, the rows of fixed racks 205-220 may be aligned suchthat their width ends 245 face the widthwise side of area 110 and aresubstantially parallel thereto. The stationary racks may be smaller,lengthwise or widthwise or both, than the movable racks for purposes ofease of loading, unloading and storage of smaller objects.Alternatively, the stationary racks may be of the same size as themovable carriage racks, or larger, depending on the application.

In one embodiment, motor means may be provided to drive the movablecarriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the lengths of area110. Remote control means for the motor means may be provided for accessto the user outside of area 110. These remote control means may beoutside, such as on the outside surfaces of the walls in which accessdoors 240 are disposed. The user can thus drivably move the carriageracks remotely from outside areas 20, 110. Alternatively, the remotecontrol means may be located inside, as appropriate to the application.The motor means may also be controlled locally.

FIG. 11 depicts exemplary carriage rack 1100, mounted on a wheeledcarriage 1110 suitable for use with an intermodal container 1112according to exemplary embodiments. The carriage rack 1100 includes fourslots 1114-1118. Each slot is accessible from the length wise opening246. In this embodiment the carriage racks 1100-1104 move in a lengthwise direction with respect to the length “L” of floor area 110. In thisembodiment, the tracks 12 extend in a length wise direction parallel tothe length “L” of floor area 110. Placement of an intermodal containerinto one of the slots of the carriage rack 1100 occurs from the lengthwise opening 246. Likewise, removal of an intermodal container into oneof the slots of the carriage rack 1100 occurs from the length wiseopening 246.

FIG. 12 depicts exemplary overhead view of a plurality of carriage racks1100, mounted on a wheeled carriages 1110 suitable for use with anintermodal container 1112 according to exemplary embodiments. Asexemplary depicted the carriage racks 1100 move in a length wisedirection “L” to define area 20, which, in turn provides access andegress to a selected one of the carriage racks 1100. The carriage racks1100 may move individually. In some embodiments, two or more of thecarriage racks 1100 are coupled to move in unison, but can be decoupledto move an individual one of the carriage racks 1100.

As discussed above in relation to other embodiments, the carriage racksdepicted in FIGS. 11 and 12, may be electromagnetically coupled anddecoupled along a width wise dimension 245 or mechanically coupled anddecoupled along a width wise dimension 245.

The individual carriage racks in a row of carriage racks may beseparately drivable, and the remote motor control may be provided withmeans for separately driving carriage racks in each row independent ofcarriage racks in another row. When the user wants to gain access to anyparticular movable row or stationary rack, the user can separately driveindividual carriage racks and rows to move them to appropriate positionswithin area 110, whereby access to desired racks can be obtained. In oneembodiment, the user can gain such access by remote control.

In embodiments where a facility according to the invention is to be usedfor boat storage, area 20 may serve multiple purposes, such asloading/unloading, servicing a boat or other object, cleaning, andrepair.

In some embodiments, the storage facility may be fully or partiallyenclosed. The facility may or may not include a roof.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodiments,improvements details and uses can be made consistent with the letter andspirit of the foregoing disclosure and within the scope of this patent.

1. A high density storage facility comprising: a floor area of a certain length and width; a plurality of rollably movable storage racks of certain height divided from top to bottom into storage slots, the slots extending the length of the carriage racks and being open and accessible for inserting and removing objects into and from the width ends of the carriage racks, the carriage racks being disposed within the floor area and including means for moving the carriage racks along the floor in a direction consistent with the width of the floor area, said carriage racks arranged in rows within the floor area with the lengthwise sides of the carriage racks being arranged substantially parallel to the lengthwise sides of the floor area, said rows comprising a plurality of side by side carriage racks which collectively fit within and across the width of the floor area.
 2. The facility of claim 1 further comprising motor means for drivably moving the carriage racks across the width of the floor area.
 3. The facility of claim 1 wherein the floor area is enclosed.
 4. The facility of claim 1 further comprising a wall disposed substantially parallel to a widthwise side of the floor area, the wall including door means selectively disposed along the length of the wall for providing access to the width ends of all of the carriage racks, the carriage racks being moveable along the width of the enclosed floor area for providing access to the width ends of the racks from the door means.
 5. The facility of claim 1 further comprising a row of stationary racks arranged along the widthwise side of the floor area, the stationary racks having a certain length, width and height and being divided from top to bottom into storage slots, the slots extending the length of the racks and being open and accessible from one width end for inserting and removing objects into and from the width ends of the stationary racks, the width ends of the racks facing the floor area.
 6. The facility of claim 1, wherein the carriage racks are uncoupably coupled along the width of the floor area for providing access to the width ends of the carriage racks.
 7. The facility of claim 5 wherein at least two rows of carriage racks are disposed within the floor area and wherein as many rows of carriage racks are disposed within the floor area as will fit along the width of the floor area and leave a portion of the floor area unoccupied which is of a size at least sufficient to provide access to the width ends of the carriage racks upon selective movement of carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the width of the floor.
 8. The facility of claim 7 wherein door means are selectively disposed along a widthwise wall of the facility so as to provide access to the unoccupied floor area upon selective movement of one or more of the carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the length of the floor area
 9. The facility of claim 7 wherein the unoccupied floor area is further selected to be of such a size as to accommodate manipulation of the objects within the unoccupied floor area for insertion into the slots.
 10. The facility of claim 1 wherein the carriage racks are mounted on tracks for widthwise movement within the floor area, the tracks extending the width of the floor area in a direction substantially parallel to the widthwise side of the floor area.
 11. The facility of claim 5 further comprising motor means for drivably moving the carriage racks across the width of the floor area.
 12. The facility of claim 5 wherein at least two rows of carriage racks are disposed within the floor area and wherein as many rows of carriage racks are disposed within the floor area as will fit along the width of the floor area and leave a portion of the floor area unoccupied which is of a size at least sufficient to provide access to the width ends of the carriage racks upon selective movement of the carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the width of the floor.
 13. The facility of claim 9 wherein door means are selectively disposed along the widthwise wall of the building so as to provide access to the unoccupied floor area upon selective movement of one or more of the carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the width of the floor.
 14. The facility of claim 9 wherein the unoccupied floor area is further selected to be of such a size as to be accessible upon movement of one or more of the carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the width of the floor area.
 15. The facility of claim 1 wherein the carriage racks comprising a row are connected electromagnetically along their lengthwise sides forming rows which are movable and selectively disconnected or uncoupled in a widthwise direction along the floor area
 16. The facility of claim 4 further comprising motor means for drivably moving the carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks across the width of the floor area.
 17. The facility of claim 4 further comprising a row of stationary racks arranged along the widthwise side of the floor area, the stationary racks having a certain length, width and height and being divided from top to bottom into storage slots, the slots extending the length of the racks and being open and accessible from one width end for inserting and removing objects into and from the width ends of the stationary racks, the width ends of the racks facing the floor area.
 18. The facility of claim 4 wherein a rack in a row of racks comprises a series of spaced vertical supports interconnected by a series of spaced horizontal supports.
 19. The facility of claim 15 wherein the carriage racks in a row of carriage racks are mounted on tracks for widthwise movement within the floor area, the tracks extending the width of the floor area in a direction substantially parallel to the widthwise side of the floor area.
 20. The facility of claim 6 wherein a carriage rack in a row of carriage racks comprises a series of spaced vertical supports interconnected by a series of horizontal supports.
 21. The facility of claim 4 wherein at least two rows of carriage racks are disposed within the floor area and wherein as many rows of carriage racks are disposed within the floor area as will fit along the width of the floor area and leave a portion of the floor area unoccupied which is of a size at least sufficient to provide access from the door means to the width ends of the carriage racks upon selective movement of the carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the width of the floor.
 22. The facility of claim 8 wherein door means are selectively disposed along the wall of the building so as to provide access to the unoccupied floor area upon selective movement of one or more carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the length of the floor area.
 23. The facility of claim 8 wherein the carriage racks in a row of carriage racks comprises a series of spaced vertical supports interconnected by a series of spaced horizontal supports.
 24. The facility of claim 8 wherein the unoccupied floor area is further selected to be of such a size as to be accessible upon movement of one or more of the carriage racks in the rows of carriage racks along the width of the floor area.
 25. The facility of claim 14 further comprising motor means for drivably moving the carriage racks across the width of the floor area.
 26. The facility of claim 14 wherein a carriage rack in a row of carriage racks comprises a series of spaced vertical supports interconnected by a series of spaced horizontal supports.
 27. The facility of claim 14 further comprising a row of stationary racks arranged along one or both of the lengthwise sides of the floor area, the stationary racks having a certain length, wherein objects can be placed into and taken from the width ends of the stationary racks, the width ends of the racks facing the floor area.
 28. The facility of claim 24 wherein a carriage rack in a row of carriage racks comprises a series of spaced vertical supports interconnected by a series of spaced horizontal supports.
 29. A high density boat storage facility comprising: a floor area of certain length and width; a plurality of rollable movable storage racks of certain height divided from top to bottom into storage slots, the slots extending the length of the racks and being open and accessible for inserting and removing boats into and from the width ends of the carriage racks, the carriage racks being disposed in rows within the enclosed floor area and including means for rolling the carriage racks along the widthwise direction of the floor area.
 30. The facility of claim 29, wherein the floor area is enclosed.
 31. The facility of claim 29, further comprising a wall disposed substantially parallel to a widthwise side of the floor area, the wall including door means selectively disposed along a widthwise wall for providing access to the width ends of the carriage racks, the carriage racks being rollably moveable along the width of the enclosed floor area for providing access to the width ends of the carriage racks from the door means. 